Sky-high expectations for Marvel’s super-slate of comic book movies

Hollywood is set to saturate cinemas with high-octane superhero films until 2019, but Marvel pioneered the “universe” concept and its newly-announced slate of interlinked films looks ready to outpower the rest.

Alexis Deacon: high drama in the dog days of summer

The winning entry in our graphic short story prize is a dark, watery tale with a twist while the joint runners-up are witty, poignant and insightful, writes Rachel Cooke

After Life by Beth Dawson

Beth Dawson has been named runner-up in the Observer/Cape/Comica graphic short story prize. This is her entry

The River by Alexis Deacon

Alexis Deacon has been awarded the Observer/Cape/Comica graphic short story prize 2014. This is his winning entry

Countess Markievicz by Fionnuala Doran

Fionnuala Doran has been named runner-up in the Observer/Cape/Comica graphic short story prize. This is her entry

Can Warner Bros’ wave of DC superhero movies sock it to Marvel?

Ben Child: A debut Wonder Woman movie, three Justice League films and solo efforts for the Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg will power Warner Bros’s bid to take on Marvel. Which will be worth watching?

Robert Downey Jr hammers Iron Man into Captain America 3

Downey to be given prominent role in third Captain America film, which will see Steve Rogers and Tony Stark on opposite sides in the Marvel civil war

Sugar Skull by Charles Burns review – fear, loathing and male guilt

The final book in the trilogy following X’ed Out and The Hive is fittingly foreboding and mysterious, writes Rachel Cooke

Why Michael Keaton should watch Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies

Michael Keaton was a superb Batman, but in order to be the best, you have to be in the greatest Batman films – and he wasn’t, writes Ben Child

Chinese media accuse Japanese manga star Doraemon of subverting youth

Robotic cat, which is the subject of an exhibition touring China, is portrayed as Japanese propaganda tool by some newspapers

Gotham: holding out for a hero

Alfred’s an ex-Marine, a cat burglar is stealing milk, and a rookie cop is after a double murderer … Richard Vine on Gotham, the neo-noir pulp TV show that imagines the city before Batman

‘I can’t imagine life without Beth’: Down’s syndrome changed our lives for the better

Henny Beaumont’s daughter, Beth, has Down’s syndrome – she’s now the star of her mother’s graphic novel about her birth and early years. By Joanna Moorhead

Astérix illustrator buries hatchet after 7-year legal battle with daughter

Albert Uderzo, co-creator of France’s most famous comic book character, declares ‘clean slate’ after court throws out case

Ghost in the Shell review – a rare slice of adult animation fantasy

Blending violent thriller, tech porn and sci-fi epic, this headspinning manga cyborg quest has dated better than its live-action rivals, writes Peter Bradshaw

My hero: Alison Bechdel by Elizabeth McCracken

The graphic memoirist's art is beautiful, exact yet somehow familiar, writes Elizabeth McCracken